POT ROAST OF BEEF WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, POTATOES AND OLIVES

This is a real comfort food recipe. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare, but then you can put it in the oven or slow cooker and forget about it for about 2-3 hours. A little secret 👩‍🍳 It tastes even better the following day!!

INGREDIENTS

One 2kg boneless beef chuck roast
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 brown onions, chopped
12 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
4 cups reduce-salt beef stock, or as needed
4 large sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
750g small (kipfler) potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
360g cherry tomatoes (preferably assorted colours)
1/4 cup pitted green olives
12 French shallots (optional)
2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature (optional)
1 Tbsp flour

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-forced.
Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven (at least 6 litres) over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, then add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, for about 12 minutes, or until browned on all sides. 

Transfer the beef to a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Stir in the wine, bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute.

Add the stock, thyme and rosemary. 

Return the beef to the pot and scatter the potatoes, tomatoes, shallots (if using) and olives around it. You should have enough liquid to cover all but about the top 1 inch of the beef; add stock or water if needed. 

Bring to a simmer over high heat, cover tightly, and transfer the pot to the oven. Bake for about 2.5 hours, turning the beef over after the first 1.5 hours, or until it is just tender. Uncover and continue baking for about 30 minutes, or until the beef is fork-tender. 

Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef, vegetables and olives to a platter. Cover with aluminium foil to keep warm.

Discard the herb stems and bring the liquid to a boil. Boil for about 20 minutes, or until lightly reduced. 
If you are using the butter, mix it well with the flour and add to the liquid. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Gently pull the beef into large chunks, along its natural separations. 

Return the beef, vegetables and olives to the pot and simmer for about 5 minutes, or just until reheated. 

Put the beef, vegetables and olives into dinner plates. Spoon a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid over each serving. Pour the remaining cooking liquid into a sauceboat. 
Serve hot, with the cooking liquid on the side and a few slices of crunchy bread to mop up the sauce, if you like.

Serves 6